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Topic: My Home Built Radial Honey Extractor (Read 48318 times)

This look like an awesome extractor for a backyard beekeeper like myself, Easy to make? How much for the parts? How much for the plans? I have some time to get one together, but would like to get one together soon.Thanks for being a beekeeper.... the planet loves you for it.

I really like your design. I (like you) was really surprised at the cost of an extractor and decided to make my own; until I started pricing out the stainless. I quickly found out that to beat 1K motorized or $630 and my drill attached where the hand crank should be is a difficult thing to do when working with stainless. I worked out a pattern for the top and bottom for the SS and I think it would hold for plastic although I would need to go back and review it for strength. I like your bearing design ( from what I could see :-D ). I had an idea of a container other than plastic and we might trade a few ideas via email or PM if you like. I'm not bad at mechanical things but electronics is my gig at the day job. I have a few sources of lower cost motors (not as cheap as the flea-market drill though) that would have infinite speed control.

Thanks for the quick response, I have been trying to find a locale barrel, with some luck too, but have been looking for open top, but then realized the link you sent was for a closed top. I know I can cut off the top, but how do you keep the top on and centered when it is spinning so it does not throw honey or you all over the place? There is no band locking it down...... just curious.Thanks,Randy

Thanks for the quick response, I have been trying to find a locale barrel, with some luck too, but have been looking for open top, but then realized the link you sent was for a closed top. I know I can cut off the top, but how do you keep the top on and centered when it is spinning so it does not throw honey or you all over the place? There is no band locking it down...... just curious.Thanks,Randy

Hey Randy,

Whoops! The link I sent was indeed for a closed top. I am not recommending that you use a closed top at all though...sorry for the confusion. I am using and a barrel with a removable top and a band clamp. While in operation I set the band clamp aside. The plastic top fits nice and tight over the lip of the barrel top edge and doesn't move during operation. The drive shaft is centered with a hole in the plastic top and the plastic top is reinforced with an HDPE disc. If you have to use a closed top barrel, you'll have to figure out some way to anchor something to the barrel that centers the shaft above the barrel. The honey, even with an open top, would not fly all over the place either. The top plate encloses the frames pretty well and the honey spins out and hits the inside of the barrel.

Not being stupid.Recently I needed to do an emergency extraction in the beginning of February and I messed up on covering the top holes. Honey got in and it gummed up the bottom bearing so it slowed it down. I had no choice but to take the motor apart and hose every thing under the kitchen sink! I got through one box of honey and the motor blew so now I am waiting for the next ceiling fan to enter the dumpster. I kick myself because we let at least three go last year.

On the next one I will make absolute sure that I get that spinner disc mounted to the motor so nothing can drip into. The first time I used this extractor I put a plastic baggy over the motor and that worked. This time I tried to tape the holes but that wasn't good enough.

"Tell me and I'll forget,show me and I may remember,involve me and I'll understand" Chinese Proverb

"The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways." John F. KennedyFranklin County Beekeepers Association MA. http://www.franklinmabeekeepers.org/

If you look at how a plastic barrel is made you see that big plastic lip on top. I haven't yet but I will make a wooden stand so the barrel will be clear of the floor and supported by that lip. The bottom of a plastic barrel is rounded so there is not a good way to stabilize that.

Also in the post that jim linked to I mentioned the three speed fan. I don't use the lower speeds because in fact a ceiling fan motor is a torque motor so it will take off slow anyway and build up speed as the frames get lighter. If you blow out a frame it may jam and do no harm. It will just stall. Ask me how I know. Here is some video if you like.First extraction four frames 002

Hi That's a great looking extractor. It's the best one I've seen, fair play to you. I was just looking in my yard trying to think of a way to make one. I have the stainless steel drum. Do you have a cross section of the sealed bearing detail or even a plan for the whole lot. If you do not you should and sell it. Just a simple drawing would do. I'll buy. Keep up the good work.

Hi Bix,I am impressed with the extractor and the amount of thought and work you have put into it.To ease the pressure on the wrists, would it be possible to attach two uprights to the lid,incorporate a cross piece with a clamp above the drill chuck?Vic.

I built mine last year from scratch as well to save some money. My motor is an old treadmill I tore apart and used what I needed! The barrel is a food grade barrel used for water. The metal frame that holds the frames I welded up with a threaded bolt on top so I could adjust the height of the pulley going to the belt/motor, and the bottom of the frame was a cotter bolt. Everything metal was coated three times with Camcoat that I got from Brushy Mountain. I even coated the interior wood with Camcoat as well.

BeeGhost, I would like to see more wood around the top bearing and the pulley mounted much closer to the bearing. I am assuming you have a bottom bearing on the basket but that would mean it would be spinning in the honey. I am not thrilled with that idea.

Bix, I got the guts to the extractor of yours that went to Ga. Have put it together yet but I have a tread mill motor and control I am going to try to run it with. What is your link to a drum with removeable top, I have one with closed top, haven't started working on it yet.

BeeGhost, I would like to see more wood around the top bearing and the pulley mounted much closer to the bearing. I am assuming you have a bottom bearing on the basket but that would mean it would be spinning in the honey. I am not thrilled with that idea.

More wood around the top bearing and the pulley mounted closer to the bearing??? What the heck would that do?? Just to let you know, I boiled the bearings a few times to remove the grease.

Besides..........i am assuming you use USED fan motors, correct? You know how much dandruff and dust and other particulates those things collect, not to mention its right INSIDE your extractor. And if I am correct, fan motors also have greased bearings........how did you get around that??

I dont care if your not thrilled with the IDEA, it works and it is food safe, which I highly doubt yours is. Looks like you need to lean over the barrel to stabilize it, more than likely you are sweating which is dripping into your extractor...........ewwww. Oh ya, I havnt had to replace anything on my extractor, and the motor will last a very long time im sure, unlike your ceiling fan motors that are covered in honey. Speaking of motor, you completely Camcoated the motor and everything in it right? If you didnt you are letting consumable honey touch unfood grade surfaces. You yourself said that honey got into the motor and gummed it up, which means that same honey collected dust, dandruff and other particulates............not to mention your sweat dripping into the extractor............ewwww.

I really think you dont like it because its an ingenious idea that came from a red neck and your jealous. No really, you are.

BeeGhost, I would like to see more wood around the top bearing and the pulley mounted much closer to the bearing. I am assuming you have a bottom bearing on the basket but that would mean it would be spinning in the honey. I am not thrilled with that idea.

More wood around the top bearing and the pulley mounted closer to the bearing??? What the heck would that do??

I was trying to help you out with some suggestions. You will find out what the heck it does after some usage.Think about how many of these fans are in kitchens and dining rooms directly above food with fan blades blowing on said food. There is nothing about your extractor that is "food grade". Likewise, there is nothing about my extractor that is food grade. On a personal basis it doesn't have to be.